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Sleep habits and sleep disturbances in Dutch children: a population-based study

Raphaële Reine Lydie van Litsenburg1, Ruth C Waumans, Gerrit van den Berg

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, VU University Medical Center, 9D11 secretariaat kindergeneeskunde, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, Netherlands. Litsenburg@vumc.nl

European Journal of Pediatrics
|March 2, 2010
PubMed

Insights

This study found 25% of Dutch children experience sleep disturbances, comparable to global rates. Cultural factors significantly influence how sleep issues are perceived and reported across different populations.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Cross-Cultural Psychology

Background:

  • Sleep disorders contribute to significant child morbidity.
  • Generalizing sleep data across diverse societies is problematic.
  • Understanding normative sleep in healthy children is crucial for clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Assess sleep disturbance prevalence in Dutch children.
  • Characterize sleep habits and problems in this population.
  • Establish Dutch normative sleep data and compare cross-culturally.

Main Methods:

  • Population-based descriptive study.
  • Utilized Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire and Sleep Self-Report.
  • Analyzed 1507 proxy-reports and 262 self-reports from children aged 8.5 years.

Main Results:

  • 25% of Dutch children reported sleep problems, similar to other populations.
  • Sleep disturbances were more prevalent in Dutch children than US children, but less than Chinese children.
  • Parental and self-reported sleep assessments showed low to moderate correlations.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep habits are age-dependent in children.
  • Cultural cognitions and attitudes impact sleep appraisal, explaining cross-cultural variations.
  • Further research on determinants of cultural sleep norms is essential.

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